Studies in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus the Christ the Son of God ( 'Beauty & the Beast' ) Part 14

'Keys to Understanding the Book of Revelation



Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me,^[a] Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

'Do not prostitute your daughter, to cause her to be a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry, and the land become full of wickedness.'  ( Leviticus 19:29 )

'You shall not bring the wages of a harlot or the price of a dog to the house of the LORD your God for any vowed offering, for both of these are an abomination to the LORD your God.' ( Deuteronomy 23:18 )

'Then Gideon made it into an ephod and set it up in his city, Ophrah. And all Israel played the harlot with it there. It became a snare to Gideon and to his house.' ( Judges 8:27 )

'Thus they were defiled by their own works, and played the harlot by their own deeds.' ( Psalm 106:39 )

'How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; righteousness lodged in it, but now murderers.'  ( Isaiah 1:21 )

'Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also.'  ( Jeremiah 3:8 )

'But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it.' ( Ezekiel 16:15 )

'Bring charges against your mother, bring charges; for she is not My wife, nor am I her Husband! Let her put away her harlotries from her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts.' ( Hosea 2:2 )

'All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces, and all her pay as a harlot shall be burned with the fire; all her idols I will lay desolate, for she gathered it from the pay of a harlot, and they shall return to the pay of a harlot.' ( Micah 1:7 )

'Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not!' ( I Corinthians 6:15 )

Although individual members of the congregation of Israel had most certainly ( without doubt ) been guilty of committing fornication, or adultery against their husbands or wives, it is fairly clear that the 'harlotry' that the 'children' of Israel were guilty of was, not the physical act of adultery, but that they had been condemned by God for committing spiritual adultery against Him, their spiritual Husband, thereby breaking the first commandment, 'You shall have no other gods before Me' ( Exodus 20:3 ). Throughout their history, as you can see from reading the Hebrew Scriptures; Israel had been guilty of repeating a vicious cycle: the book of Judges shows this cycle most clearly, maybe, a cycle of Israel 'falling away' from God, God punishing them by giving them 'into the hand' of one of their God-less neighbors, Israel seemingly ( for awhile ) repenting and turning to God, then God would raise up a deliverer for them. This cycle was repeated numerous times, until they finally reached the point ( of apostasy ), that God had before ordained ( Jude 1:4 ), when He would 'judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained' ( Acts 17:30 & 31 ( Psalm 9:8, 96:12 & 13, 98:7-9 ). Some, I know, would ( vehemently, more or less ) argue that ancient Babylon ( or rather, her modern day equivalent ) is meant by 'the Great Harlot', but as Israel ( national, physical ) 'seems' to be the focus of the Hebrew Scriptures, and since John borrowed ( most heavily ) both his imagery and writing style from them; I think that it makes more sense, and is far more likely, that the 'Harlot' referred to is none other than apostate Israel ( after the flesh ). One argument that I remember , in regards to Israel being the 'Harlot' was that Israel, and no other, was the 'nation' that God had covenanted with ( as Moses told them, in Deuteronomy 10:15, 'The LORD delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day.' ( see also Deuteronomy 29:10-15 ), therefore Israel ( apostate, 'after the flesh' ) would naturally be the one that John would see as the 'Great Harlot'!

As this 'harlot' was seen sitting on many waters, which, as we have noted before, are significant of the surrounding nations and peoples, we can read in Ezekiel 23, a parable the God revealed to the prophet, a parable in which He described the harlotry of Israel, how they had spurned the love of their God, offering her 'wares' to the nation around her, and even paying them for their 'love'! Again, as we have noted, regarding the phrase 'inhabitants of the earth', 'earth' might be more correctly translated 'land: God revealed through His prophet Isaiah, 'Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower which is at the head of the verdant valleys, to those who are overcome with wine!' ( 28:1 ), and, in Isaiah 51:17, 'Awake, awake! Stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of His fury; you have drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling, and drained it out.'



So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.



'Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.' ( Isaiah 1:18 )

'After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It [ was ] different from all the beasts that [ were ] before it, and it had ten horns. I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, [ were ] eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.' ( Daniel 7:7 )

'Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.' ( Exodus 16:2 )

'A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns; the land [ is ] like the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; surely nothing shall escape them.' ( Joel 2:3 )

'For thus says the LORD to the house of the king of Judah: You [ are ] Gilead to Me, the head of Lebanon; [ yet ] I surely will make you a wilderness, cities [which ] are not inhabited.' ( Jeremiah 22:6 )

'And now she [ is ] planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.'  ( Ezekiel 19:13 )


'Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.' ( Matthew 4:1 )

The fact that John was led into the 'wilderness' to receive his vision of the 'harlot & the beast' should be seen seen as significant. When God led His 'children', through Moses, into and through the wilderness, as seen in the Exodus; you can see, in a type, that, as He later led His Son, the true Israel, into the wilderness, later, so the 'children' of Israel were subjected to temptations, most of which they succumbed to, as we see in places like Ezekiel 20. Verse 15 shows that God, through the prophet revealed that, 'I also raised My hand in an oath to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given [ them ], ‘flowing with milk and honey,’^[d] the glory of all lands.' Psalm 106, along with several other Psalms, recounts the many sins that the 'children' of Israel had committed against God in their 'wilderness wanderings'.

The many rebellions of these 'children', not only in their 'wilderness wanderings', but even when they were settled in the 'Promised Land', and had 'tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come' ( Hebrews 6:5- the writer goes on, in the next few verses, to say 'For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, [ it is ] rejected and near to being cursed, whose end [ is ] to be burned.' ), and the time had come to reveal this 'harlot' for who she really was , by taking her back out to the 'wilderness', and un-veiling' ( Isaiah 3:17, Jeremiah 13:22 ), before finally and decisively putting an end to her harlotries ( Daniel 9:24, Hebrews 9:26 ( Psalm 85:2, Jeremiah 31:34 ).

As in so much of the book of Revelation; John borrowed much Old Covenant ( Hebrew ) imagery when describing what he 'saw' in his visions. Daniel 7 gives us a preview, if you will, of what God would reveal to His people in the 'last days', when He showed the prophet a vision of the Roman 'beast'  upon whom is covenant 'children' would rely. This beast is seen as 'scarlet', because the luridity of the shade has made it, in some cases, almost synonymous with blatant sin and rebellion, as in the case of Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter'.



The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.^[b] And on her forehead a name was written:

      MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.



'She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household [ is ] clothed with scarlet.' ( Proverbs 31:21 )

'Those who ate delicacies are desolate in the streets; those who were brought up in scarlet embrace ash heaps.' ( Lamentations 4:5 )

'And he made a veil of blue, purple, and scarlet [ thread ], and fine woven linen; it was worked [ with ] an artistic design of cherubim.' ( Exodus 36:35 )

'Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing [ was of ] fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate [ pastry of ] fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, and succeeded to royalty.' ( Ezekiel 16:13 )

'And he decorated the house with precious stones for beauty, and the gold [ was ] gold from Parvaim.' ( II Chronicles 3:6 )

'He made of pure gold the utensils which were on the table: its dishes, its cups, its bowls, and its pitchers for pouring.' ( Exodus 37:16 )

'Babylon [was ] a golden cup in the LORD’s hand, that made all the earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore the nations are deranged.' ( Jeremiah 51:7 )


'I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.  Selah'  ( Psalm 32:5 )

'Because you have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.' ( Isaiah 28:15 )


'For My eyes [ are ] on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes.' ( Jeremiah 16:17 )

'I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me; for now, O Ephraim, you commit harlotry; Israel is defiled.' ( Hosea 5:3 )

'I brought you into a bountiful country, to eat its fruit and its goodness. But when you entered, you defiled My land and made My heritage an abomination.' ( Jeremiah 2:7 )

As His covenant 'children' entered the 'Promised Land', God had told them, 'When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations' ( Deuteronomy 18:9 ( Ezra 9:1 ); obviously, these 'children' did not listen very well, as we read throughout the book of Judges, and elsewhere in the recorded history of Israel.

The Greek μυστήριον, transliterated mystērion, means 'hidden thing, secret, mystery', and although certain Israelites like David, in Psalm 69:5, acknowledged that one could not hide sin from God; the rebellious 'children' thought that they could and had ( Ezekiel 9:9, Jeremiah 13:27 ( Isaiah 33:19 ).They were wrong of course!

I have noted before, that the 'children' of Israel had apostatized to the point that they were almost indistinguishable from the nations around them, whom God had rendered an adverse judgment upon for their wickedness. In Isaiah 1:9 & 10, the prophets lamented how the leaders of Israel had become so corrupt, that he likened them to, and even called them 'Sodom'! The apostle Peter, I believe, used the name 'Babylon', as a code-word for his persecuted brethren in the land ( of Judah ), in I Peter 5:13. This may be a bit questionable, and it's entirely possible that Peter was referring to brethren in the actual city of Babylon, but Scripture gives us no indication that any of the apostles had ever traveled that far east ( although it's quite possible ), and, as far as I know, neither does any extra-biblical work I've ever seen, read, or heard of, although, I will admit, it is quite possible, and very feasible that Peter did visit Babylon, for there was, no doubt, most like a church there.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               



It is significant that 'purple and scarlet' were used, not only in the making of the Tabernacle ( Exodus 26 ), and in the making of the priestly garments ( Exodus 28 ), but of the veil itself, the separating curtain between the 'holy place' ( the visible universe ) and 'the holiest' ( heaven ( as the Presence of God ), which veil was taken 'away in Christ' ( II Corinthians 3:14 ). Although symbolically removed at the cross, this veil, along with the Temple it was in, was not actually removed ( 'taken away'- Hebrews 8:13 ), until the destruction of the Temple, in AD70.


I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.



'I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. All flesh shall know that I, the LORD, [ am ] your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.'  ( Isaiah 49:26 )

'For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that He may avenge Himself on His adversaries. The sword shall devour; it shall be satiated and made drunk with their blood; for the Lord GOD of hosts has a sacrifice in the north country by the River Euphrates.' ( Jeremiah 46:10 )

'Pause and wonder! Blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with intoxicating drink.' ( Isaiah 29:9 )

'Moreover Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides his sin by which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the LORD.' ( II Kings 21:16 )

'Now hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who abhor justice and pervert all equity, who build up Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with iniquity.' ( Micah 3:9 & 10 )

'When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning.' ( Isaiah 4:4 )

We have noted before that the Scriptures, for the most part, concern Israel, God's covenant people. This is a well-established fact. I dare say, and we can even see this from Scripture ( Joel 3:19, Habakkuk 2:8 ( Jeremiah 51, Psalm 79:3 ), that the wicked leaders of Israel were not the only ones who had shed the blood of God's people, but, especially as the covenant 'children' of God ( Israel after the flesh ) are the primary focus ( physically speaking, anyway ) of both the Greek and Hebrew Scriptures, it is more than safe, even necessary, to assume that Israel ( after the flesh ), if only by reason of her 'great harlotries', as we looked at previously, is signified by the 'harlot'.



But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.



'Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work among this people, a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise [ men ] shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent [ men ] shall be hidden.' ( Isaiah 29:14 )

'At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell [ you ], for you [ are ] greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision.' ( Daniel 9:23 )

'And He said to them, To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables,so that Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.^[c]' ( Mark 4:11 & 12 )

As John marveled at this horrific and enigmatic vision, the angel, or messenger, who accompanied him revealed to John that the vision that he had just seen was indeed that, a vision with a hidden, or secret meaning.

That the 'angel refers to 'the woman' here, rather than 'the harlot', should be seen as significant as well, and most likely, for reasons that we have noted above, significant of the ( physical ) nation of Israel, at least, those who had apostatized.



The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.






'Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ^[a] had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin^[b] is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God^[c] in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.'  ( II Thessalonians 2:1-4 )


'But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.' ( II Peter 3:7 )

'Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit.' ( Revelation 9:1 )

'And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day.' ( Jude 6 )

Historically; I have heard, and you may have too, that this phrase 'was, and is not, and yet is' might refer to the idea that Domitian was a reiteration of Nero, who had apparently committed suicide, but, as my purpose here is to prove that the Revelation of Jesus as the Christ, as the Son of God ( Matthew 26:64 ), was in judgment on the apostate 'children' of Israel, and brought an 'end' ( I Peter 4:7 ( Daniel 12 ) to the Old Covenant economy; I wish to simply stick mainly with Scripture.

As we have seen, 'angel' simply means 'messenger': the religious leaders of Israel, many of whom led them astray, to one degree or another, and even and eventually ( irreversibly ( Hebrews 6:4-6 ) into apostasy, were to be 'messengers of the covenant' ( Malachi 3:1 ( Jeremiah 35:15 ), bringing, or 'revealing' ( Isaiah 56:1-8 ) the 'good news' ( Romans 1:16 ( Galatians 3:8, Hebrews 4:2 ) to His people: I believe that Jude referred to these 'messengers', when he spoke of those 'angels who did not keep their proper domain', who rather than remaining in the ministry to which they had been called, used their ministry to their own selfish ends.

Although this beast, as we shall see later, signifies Rome, and it's imperial power ( Daniel 2:40, 7:7 & 8 ), but let us remember too, that John also 'saw' a second, a beast from the earth, or 'land'.  The Greek ἀπώλεια, translated 'perdition', means quite simply 'destroying, utter destruction', and is, interestingly enough, a feminine noun. As Jerusalem was often referred to in the feminine, and we know that 'she' was destroyed in AD70; it doesn't take much to see that this 'son of perdition' referred to Jerusalem. ( As to why it was a 'son' of perdition, referring back to Hosea 1:3-5, where He revealed, through the prophet, what would transpire in the 'last days',  the 'Day of the Lord'.



Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.



'You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, [ in ] the place, O LORD, [ which ] You have made for Your own dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, [ which ] Your hands have established.'  ( Exodus 15:17 )

'He removes the mountains, and they do not know when He overturns them in His anger.' ( Job 9:5 )

'And He brought them to His holy border, this mountain [ which ] His right hand had acquired.' ( Psalm 78:54 )

'Now it shall come to pass in the latter days [ that ] the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it.' ( Isaiah 2:2 )

'And in this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees. And He will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations.' ( Isaiah 25:6 & 7 )

'But you [ are ] those who forsake the LORD, who forget My holy mountain, who prepare a table for Gad,^[a]and who furnish a drink offering for Meni.^[b]' ( Isaiah 65:11 )

'Truly, in vain [ is salvation hoped for ] from the hills, [ and from ] the multitude of mountains; truly, in the LORD our God [ is ] the salvation of Israel.' ( Jeremiah 3:23 )


'I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled, and all the hills moved back and forth.' ( Jeremiah 4:24 )

'O My mountain in the field, I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures, [ and ] your high places of sin within all your borders.' ( Jeremiah 17:3 )

'Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, who destroys all the earth', says the LORD. 'And I will stretch out My hand against you, roll you down from the rocks, and make you a burnt mountain.'  ( Jeremiah 51:25 )

'Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 'Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains, to the hills, to the ravines, and to the valleys: Indeed I, even I, will bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.' ( Ezekiel 6:1-3 )

'Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.' ( Daniel 2:35 )

'Hear now what the LORD says: 'Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Hear, O you mountains, the LORD’s complaint, and you strong foundations of the earth; for the LORD has a complaint against His people, and He will contend with Israel.'
( Micah 6:1 & 2 )

Many of these passages do refer to actual mountains ( or can, anyway ), but they also have a typical, or spiritual meaning to them, as well; for example, when Isaiah refers to 'mountain of the LORD’s house', he is speaking of the future ( to him ) glory of God's New Covenant Church, the Body of Christ. When God spoke, through Jeremiah of His 'mountain in the field', He was lamenting to His people. The context of these passages, most referring to the coming judgment, or to future blessing of His covenant people,  determines of what, or who God, or the prophet, is speaking. Several of these passages refer to a judgment upon Babylon, or some other 'adversary of God's people, but they are included to show that 'mountain' most often refers, really or actually ( or both ) to a certain people, not necessarily to an actual mountain.

It was further explained to John that this 'beast' with seven heads that the 'woman' sat upon was symbolic of her 'resting' on seven mountains. Now I have heard, and maybe some of my readers have too, concerning both Jerusalem and Rome sat upon, or were nestled among, seven hills. Whether or not that is the case ( both would make sense ); the point is, that this 'harlot' ( Israel 'after the flesh' ) was seeking her strength, and resting in that which was not God, contrary to the covenant she had made.

This language ( concerning the 'beast' ) can be somewhat confusing, although not too hard to figure out, with a little searching. The Wikipedia article that I found on the subject, lists, as the first five emperors of Rome, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. The 'angel' told John that 'Five have fallen', so these first five 'kings had fallen, 'one' was, at the time of John's writing ( this is where it could get a bit confusing ), and the 'beast' himself symbolized the 'eighth'. The article lists four Roman emperors between Nero and the destruction of Jerusalem, Galba ( who ruled 7 months ), Otho ( who ruled 3 months, Vitellius ( who ruled a little over 7 months ), and finally, Vespasian, under whose reign Jerusalem fell. Were Galba, Otho, and Vitellius so inconsequential that John ( Jesus, really ) listed them as 'one' king ( emperor )? I believe that it is more than probable that this is so, and so do many other scholars and theologians. Whether or not this is the case, and can be historical proven or not, I believe, is beside the fact! Staying with the Scriptures, as I am aiming for, one cannot help but notice that most significant, although in most cases, historically accurate, number 'seven'. Deciphering the identity of the 'beast' upon which 'the woman' ( Genesis 2:21-23 ) isn't really that heard; referring to the historical context of the Greek Scriptures, physically speaking, the Romans were THE world power of the era, and had ruled over Israel for quite some time. It wouldn't be much of a stretch for a patriotic Israelite to refer to Rome as a 'beast', especially since Jews were known for referring to the Gentiles as 'dogs', which even Jesus did ( Matthew 15:26 ). As seven is the number of perfection and completeness, it is interesting that the 'harlot' would sit, or 'rest' upon 'seven' mountains. Did she think that this is where her strength lay?




The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.



'The ten horns [ are ] ten kings [ who ] shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; he shall be different from the first [ ones ], and shall subdue three kings.' ( Daniel 7:23 )

'Wisdom strengthens the wise more than ten rulers of the city.' ( Ecclesiastes 7:19 )

'Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.”' ( Genesis 18:32 )

'But yet a tenth [ will be ] in it, and will return and be for consuming, as a terebinth tree or as an oak, whose stump [ remains ] when it is cut down.
so the holy seed [ shall be ] its stump.' ( Isaiah 6:13 )

'Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him, arose and struck Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.' ( Jeremiah 41:2 )

'Now it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth [ day ] of the month, [ that ] Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and [ they ] built a siege wall against it all around.' ( Jeremiah 52:4 )

'For thus says the Lord GOD: The city that goes out by a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which goes out by a hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel.' ( Amos 5:3 )

'Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, Let us go with you, for we have heard [ that ] God [ is ] with you.' ( Zechariah 8:23 )

'Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you [ such ] blessing that [ there will ] not [ be room ] enough [ to receive it ].' ( Malachi 3:10 )

To the rebellious house of Israel, earlier in the third chapter of Malachi; God posed this question 'Will a man rob God?' God indeed told them that they had robbed Him, by their tithes and offerings! In Matthew 23:23; Jesus later pronounced His judgment on these same Pharisees, because, while they were paying their tithes, as they had done for generations, they had 'neglected the weightier [ principles ] of the law: justice and mercy and faith', and that these should be done , while not leaving the other undone.

As with the number 'seven', the number 'ten' ( or a 'tenth' ) most often refers to a physically literal number, but it, like 'seven' is a very prolific number, Scripturally speaking, and can refer to a perfect amount, etc. Even an  example in today's 'day and age' shows this; for instance, when referring to a wonderful example of womanhood ( especially physically ( aesthetically ) pleasing ) example, one might use the phrase, 'she's a perfect 'ten'!

God gave the 'Ten' Commandments ( or words );  according to Exodus 26:1, the tabernacle ( in the wilderness ) was made with 'ten curtains [ of ] fine woven linen and blue, purple, and scarlet': David sent 'ten young men' to lay his righteous petition before Nabal, in I Samuel 25:4. According to I Kings 6, and like passages; the construction of the Temple fell in perfect tens, or multiples thereof ( I Kings 7:23,  II Chronicles 4:8 ( Ezekiel 40 ); Job accused his friends of bringing reproach upon him 'these ten times' ( Job 19:3 ), and when Ismael assassinated the governor appointed by the conquering Babylonian king, he 'came with ten men', as recorded in Jeremiah 41:1.When Nebuchadnezzar tested Daniel and his three brethren, he found them 'ten times better' than the 'wise' men that he regularly employed ( Daniel 1:20 ).There are many other examples in both the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures that show this usage of the word 'ten' ( or 'tenth' ), and I'm almost as sure that it could be proven that there were ( at least ) ten actual 'kings' ( or the nations they ruled ) were involved in the desolation and destruction of Jerusalem.

Daniel 12 begins with these words,

'At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands [ watch ] over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, [  even ] to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame [ and ] everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.'

This is probably one of the clearest passages from the Old Covenant Scriptures that links 'The Finished Work of Christ' with the destruction and desolation of Jerusalem and the Temple, because, while this 'Michael' would 'stand up' in those days ( 'the Day of the Lord' ), 'He' would also 'wake' His people from their slumber, and the 'wise' ones would benefit  from that awakening, while others would reap what they had sowed, and perish eternally.




Then he said to me, The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.



'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness [ was ] on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.' ( Genesis 1:1 & 2 )


'The earth [ is ] the LORD’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.  For He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters.' ( Psalm 24:1 & 2 )

'Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink; let me be delivered from those who hate me, and out of the deep waters.' ( Psalm 69:14 )

'Stretch out Your hand from above; rescue me and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of foreigners, whose mouth speaks lying words, and whose right hand [ is ] a right hand of falsehood.' ( Psalm 144:7 & 8 )

'Blessed [ are ] you who sow beside all waters, who send out freely the feet of the ox and the donkey.' ( Isaiah 32:20 )

'When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.' ( Isaiah 43:2 )


'Who [ is ] this coming up like a flood, whose waters move like the rivers?' ( Jeremiah 46:7 )

'And in that day it shall be [ that ] living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea; in both summer and winter it shall occur.' ( Zechariah 14:8 )

We have noted before, as often in the prophetic Scriptures, that 'waters', while often a reference to actual water ( rivers, streams, seas, etc. ), very often has a deeper spiritual meaning. In many cases, 'waters' refers to a people, the nation ( Gentiles ), but it also can refer to the blessings of the Holy Spirit, or to God Himself. Psalm 23 is perhaps one of the more famous passages referring to the blessings of the Holy Spirit ( although this whole passage does have it's base in physicality-Psalm 114:8 ). Referring to Himself as 'the waters of Shiloah that flow softly' ( Isaiah 8:6 ); God revealed to His 'children' that He would bring upon them a flood ( as in Noah's day-Isaiah 28:2 ), with 'the waters of the River' overflowing and engulfing them. Another very familiar passage is found in Isaiah 55:1, where God calls His people to the blessings of abundant ( eternal ) life. God's main premise in His case against Israel ( after the flesh ) was that His people had forsaken Him, 'the fountain of living waters', and made their own 'cisterns', that could not hold 'water'. Almost quoting directly from Psalm 1:3, the prophet wrote, in Jeremiah 17:8, that the man who puts his trust in the Lord ( God ) would be like a 'tree planted by the waters'. Another famous passage, this time from Habakkuk 2:14, is 'For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.'




And the ten horns which you saw on^[d] the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire.



'Jerusalem has sinned gravely, therefore she has become vile. All who honored her despise her because they have seen her nakedness; yes, she sighs and turns away.' ( Lamentations 1:8 )

'For your sister Sodom was not a byword in your mouth in the days of your pride, before your wickedness was uncovered. It was like the time of the reproach of the daughters of Syria^[c] and all [ those ] around her, and of the daughters of the Philistines, who despise you everywhere.' ( Ezekiel 16:57 & 58 )

'I will set My jealousy against you, and they shall deal furiously with you; they shall remove your nose and your ears, and your remnant shall fall by the sword; they shall take your sons and your daughters, and your remnant shall be devoured by fire. They shall also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewelry.' ( Ezekiel 23:25 & 26 )

'Hear now, O heads of Jacob, and you rulers of the house of Israel: [ is it ] not for you to know justice? You who hate good and love evil; who strip the skin from My people,^[a] and the flesh from their bones; who also eat the flesh of My people, flay their skin from them, break their bones, and chop [ them ] in pieces like [ meat ] for the pot, like flesh in the cauldron.' ( Micah 3:3  )

The 'rulers' of the 'children' of Israel had been appointed to lead their followers in right paths, and as Jesus told Peter ( John 21:15-18 ( Isaiah 40:11 ); 'Feed My lambs', but instead they had 'eaten up the vineyard' ( Isaiah 3:14 ( 5:1-7 ). They had abused the position that God had placed them in, and used it to gain power over His people ( Hosea 4:8 ), to their own purpose and advantage. Now God had turned the tables on them, and brought in those of the nations ( Gentiles, 'dogs' ) to do the same to them ( I Kings 14:11, II Kings 9:36 ( Psalm 22:16 ), as they had done to the people of God.



For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.



'But indeed for this  [ purpose ] I have raised you up, that I may show My power [ in ] you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.' ( Exodus 9:16 )

'For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, a bitter and hasty nation which marches through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling places [ that are ] not theirs.'  ( Habakkuk 1:6 )

'Make the arrows bright! Gather the shields! The LORD has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes. For His plan [ is ] against Babylon to destroy it, because it [ is ] the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance for His temple.' ( Jeremiah 51:11 )

'Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it.'  ( Jeremiah 32:28 )

'He cast on them the fierceness of His anger, wrath, indignation, and trouble, by sending angels of destruction [ among them ].' ( Psalm 78:49 )

Speaking of the coming destruction and desolation of Jerusalem and the Temple, Jesus told His disciples, in Luke 21:22, 'these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.' As the prophet Jeremiah revealed above, it was 'vengeance of the LORD', vengeance for His 'temple' ( I Corinthians 6:19 ), His people, the 'Israel of God' ( Galatians 6:16 ( Romans 9:6-8 ). God has revealed through His prophets, 'down through the ages', His complete and utter sovereignty, in using even the wicked to accomplish His purposes. In the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, in AD70, and thus bringing a complete and final 'end' to the Old Covenant economy, and it's reign of terror and death; God utilized the strength ( kingdom-Daniel 7:23 ) of the Roman Empire to 'completely shatter' ( Daniel 12:7 ) the power of the 'holy people' ( Daniel 8:24 ), those who had rebelled against Him ( Jude 6 ), by plying their own righteousness ( Isaiah 64:6 ), rather than seeking His, who followed the 'letter', rather than the 'spirit' of the law.



And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.



'And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel;^[b] for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.' ( Genesis 32:28 )

'Consume [ them ] in wrath, consume [ them ], that they [ may ] not [be ]; and let them know that God rules in Jacob to the ends of the earth.  Selah '  ( Psalm 59:13 )

'Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all^[b] the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' ( Genesis 1:26 )

'I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem; the battle bow shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations; His dominion [ shall be ] ‘from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.’^[b]' ( Zechariah 9:10 )

'He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.' ( Psalm72:8 )

David declared, in Psalm 8:6, 'You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all [ things ] under his feet,'; this was the stated purpose for God's creation of man, and whether or not you beliee in 'covenant creation' or not ( this, basically, is the idea that Adam was not simply the first human being on planet earth, but the first 'covenant man', one whom God made a covenant with ), this is an indisputable fact: man was made to have dominion over the rest of God's creation!

We've read above that God 'rules in Jacob to the ends of the earth', so from that, and really the context of Scripture as whole shows this, we can deduce that God created Israel as His special people, with which to rule the earth. One might make the argument that 'the Babylonian Empire was much greater than any 'empire that David, Solomon, or any of the other kings of Israel had': this is true enough; but God did not establish His covenant with that, or any other nation ( Genesis 17:4 ( Psalm 50:5 ). The Scriptures are a covenant book, a history of God's dealings with His covenant people, and as such; it should be  clear that it is only secondarily ( through their dealings with the 'children' of Israel ) that we even hear about Babylon or an of those other nations in that 'region' of the world, so really, in the context of the covenant, as well as Scripture, it only make sense, that the 'woman' ( or 'city ), who 'reigns over the kings of the earth', is symbolic of Old Covenant Israel.

May God bless you with this study,
                                   Charles Haddon Shank










                                                                                                                                                                    

Jeremiah Bereano and the doctrine of Election

I had not heard from Jeremiah Bereano for quite some time ( I'm sure he's been busy, what with preparing for a wedding, and such............ ), but my longtime friend/nemesis called me up the other day. As the familiar strains of 'Amazing Grace' filled the air, I pulled my phone from my pocket, and noticing his name on the caller ID, I almost hesitantly flipped it open.............

As usual; I'd have been surprised if he'd let me get my customary greeting out, and sure enough, before I even had a chance to say 'hello', my friend opened the conversation with 'your article on God's election is sure a nice Calvinistic piece of work' ( I could tell he was being more than a bit sarcastic........... ) I quickly remarked that I'd been doing quite a lot of re-thinking in the area of many of the doctrines, especially the area of doctrine that is known as orthodox, having been traditionally accepted and taught by the ( catholic and Reformed ) church ( organized, institutional ). 'Well, it's about time' he replied, 'and I mean that in two ways; first it is about time, the timing and nature of Christ's return in judgment on the Old Covenant economy, and secondly, it's about time that you got rid of some of your Calvinistic baggage, and consistently rethought your positional 'The Grace of God's Election' !'

''But, Jer', I replied, maybe a little weakly ( but a bit incensed ): 'I am NOT a Calvinist; I just believe ( strongly ) in Sovereign Grace!' 'Whatever', he ( almost sneeringly ) said, then consolingly ( and condescendingly ) added, 'I never said you were a Calvinist, just that you had some 'baggage' left over from your Calvinistic days!' I had to grudgingly admit that he was correct...................Over the past few years and months, in particular; God has been revealing to me, through several different 'channels', that much of what we have been taught to believe by the institutional church, is, at the very least flawed, if not altogether false. Much of this falsity, though, is due to an incorrect understanding, or no understanding, of the covenants, and in particular, the 'change' ( I Corinthians 15:52 ) that was brought about with the 'ending' of the Old Covenant, and the 'consummation' ( Hebrews 8:1, Revelation 19:7-9 )

Jeremiah was right; 'It WAS about Time', time that along with other 'doctrines' that needed some revision, re'forming'; I re-stated my position, and I believe, Scripture's position ( especially in 'Light' of the New Covenant, and the principles and implications of fulfilled eschatology')!

My friend stated; 'It is fairly clear from Scripture that there was a choosing, an election of a special people by God, before the foundation of the world, but it is also clear that this was all prior to, and in reference to the Old Covenant, which came about because of, and though, the sin and death of Adam ( Genesis 2:16 & 17).' I agreed, for the most part, with Jeremiah Bereano, and I told him so: 'I believe that the principles ( of predestination & election ) still apply, but that you correctly assert that the 'letter' of these doctrines must needs have under-gone a 'change' ( Hebrews 7:12-18 ), as well, with the appearing of Christ, and the 'better promises' ( Hebrews 8:6 ) of the New Covenant'.

All that was needed now, was for me to 'Just do it', and after my friend reminded me that I should do just that; I asked him if he would be willing to collaborate with me on it, and we decided to make a concerted effort on it, which though our 'plates' are both rather full right now ( his more than mine, I think ), will be forthcoming!

After we had agreed on this ( which was a bit of a relief to me ); we exchanged a few pleasantries: I asked about the wedding and such, how his health had been, upon which he told me ( almost in the manner of a 'guilt-trip') that the wedding had gone fine without me, but that, in God's good providence, it had not gone off without a 'hitch ( he jokingly said ), and as for his health, he said, 'Well, Chuckles, I know that you can sympathize, or commiserate, or whatever, but I just don't get around as well, or as much as I used to, but God is good, and has graciously enabled me to do what I need to do, and for the most part, what 'I think' that I need to do! 'Yes', I replied, 'I'm right there with you, brother ( in a manner of speaking )', because I could very easily commiserate with him, not being able to get around very well myself.

I told my friend that I appreciated his 'wake-up call' ( though I had been gravitating in that direction anyway ), and that it was truly good to hear from him ( for even though I sometimes dreaded his calls; I did love Jeremiah ), and, telling him 'I love you, brother!', I flipped my phone closed. 'Till another day............'

Healing Leaves ( a companion to 'Principles and Implications of Fufilled Eschatology )

I've talked quite a lot lately, hypocritically, I might add, about the fact that we, as 'new creatures' in Christ, have been made 'healing leaves'. I get this phrase from the second verse of the last chapter in Revelation, but really, the 'idea', the impetus for it, starts back in Genesis 4, when Cain 'unwittingly' asked God, 'am I my brothers keeper?' This 'devil- may care' answer/question was given in response to God's own question 'What have you done............?' Cain, of course was pretty angry at both his brother and at God. We know of this account ( Genesis 4 ) as the first ( recorded ) instance of murder in the Bible, but I believe that God had the writer 'put it down' for another reason, as well; it shows us that, yes, we are our brother's keeper, we should care about our brethren, and we do have a duty to do what we can to make sure they are well!

The Scriptures give of us many examples ( most from the opposite side ) of why we should love our brother ( or sister, neighbor, stranger, etc. ) First of all, of course, is the ( opposite ) example of Cain's murder of Abel: he should have, rather than being angry at his brother for doing right, while he did wrong, repented of his wrong-doing. As we know, however, he didn't, and so ended up 'falling prey' to his own emotions, killing his brother, and being expelled from the Presence of God!

Jacob was the younger brother, yet he had been told ( by his mother? ) that God had promised him the 'double portion'; so, rather than being patient, and waiting on God's good timing, when his brother came to him famished one day, fresh ( or not so fresh ) from working in the fields, asking for a simple bowl of stew; Jacob, rather than just giving it to him, as a caring brother should, said 'sell me your birthright'. You can read the rest of the story in Genesis, chapters 24-27. I believe that, although God's purpose was fulfilled in Jacob's actions ( even though his actions were wrong, from our point of view; this does not excuse Jacob's wrong-doing, in the choices he made, and the way he went about making sure that he got the 'double portion'!

Jonathan, maybe one of the best Scriptural examples, should naturally have inherited his father's ( Saul's ) throne, and even though he knew this, he be-friended David, even taking him 'under his wing' for a time, because he loved David, and knew that God had rejected his father from being king before Him ( that included his 'line' ), and had anointed David as the next king of Israel, in his place. Jonathan had every 'right' to be angry, just as you would think Cain did, but even moreso. Although he may have been a bit angry at his father for 'screwing up' his chance at being king ( he was angrier with him for his hatred of David ); he never said anything to David about it ( except good ), and never, by his actions toward David, showed anything but love, friendship, and compassion!

Reading through the Bible; you can probably find other examples ( both good and bad ) of how we are to act ( or not act ) towards our brother: I John 3:14, for instance, says that this is how they knew that they had passed from 'death to life', because they loved the brethren. ( I say 'they', because they were concerned with the transition from the Old to the New Covenant ). Jesus, in John 15:12, told His disciples to 'love one another, as I have loved you'. He even tells us, in Matthew 5:44, to 'love your enemies', for, as Proverbs 10:12 says, 'love covers all sins' .

Revelation 22:2 reads, speaking in the context of 'the new heavens and new earth'/New Covenant, 'In the middle of it's street, and on either side of the river, [was ] the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each [ tree ] yielding it's fruit every month. The leaves of the tree [were] for the healing of the nations.

Without getting into a study of the surrounding context, which I will be doing, Lord willing, in the not-too-distant future; let me just say again, 'we are those leaves!'

I recently wrote a short note on some of the principles and implications of fulfilled eschatology, and this, concerning us anyway, is probably the most important ( and humbling ) of those implications!

The 'Tree of Life' as 'figured' in the garden of Eden ( Genesis 2:9 & 3:22 ), traditionally prefigured Christ. This is a well-accepted fact among most, if not all Christians. During Jesus' famous 'Vine & Branches' discourse ( to His disciples ) in John 15, He put it this way ( verse 5 ), 'I am the vine, you [are ] the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without me, you can do nothing.' Now granted; one could nitpick a little bit here, and even though the parallels are fairly easy to pick up on. Say something to the effect that Jesus said, in Revelation 22, that we [ are to ] bear fruit, and leaves don't bear fruit. Although I believe that would be 'grasping at straws', 'mere' nitpicking; they just might have a point there! The language that Jesus uses in chapter 22, verses 1 & 2 seem to indicate the 'presence' of more than one tree, for it ( 'the Tree of Life' ) was 'on either side of the river'! How could that be, unless the 'Tree' had multiplied itself ( is that what you call naturalization, Luther, or maybe that would be 'spiritualization'?! ), and the leaves/fruit of that/those 'tree/s' are for the healing of the nations!

How are we, faultful, weak-willed; finite, and fallible human beings supposed to 'change' the world, to heal' so many centuries, even milllenia of hate and discord, crime and punishment? Who are we to even think such a thing might be possible ( Psalm 8:4 )? Jesus reminds us, in John 15, 'for without Me, you can do nothing'! It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit ( both through us and in them ) that we can! You say yet, 'how can we 'heal' the nations? We just po' folk, livin' in the heartland ( of America )!'' I'm right there with you brother; I can barely afford to travel to the neighboring states, much less a whole other country! Let me explain something that might make it a bit easier/simpler: when John wrote the words that Jesus gave him ( the Revelation ); it was in the historical context of the first century, during, I believe, the 'great tribulation'. Although, in the 'grand' ( God's ) scheme of things, we know that the Gospel ( Matthew 28:19 ) was meant for every nation 'under heaven'; the 'Great Commission' ( of Matthew 28:19 ) was fulfilled in the first century, but I rather doubt that the Gospel had spread to America, Australia, even parts of Europe and Asia, by then, and most would probably agree with me here. The 'nations', especially in biblical historical context, were those neighboring regions ( we would call them 'states' ) and countries in the Mediterranean region. We can only strive to do our part as 'healing leaves' to those around us, to minister ( as time and finances allow ) to 'needs' that we see around us, and I realize that there are those that God has called ( and 'opened doors' for ) some to travel to distant ( more or less ) countries and minister as 'healing leaves' in that particular country, or areas; but how much does it cost, how much time or finances does it take to share the love of Christ by just going across the street, with a smile on your face, and shake someone's hand, help a little old lady across the street, or bandage up a child's freshly scraped knee?

By God's grace,
Charles Haddon Shank

The Principles and Implications of Fulfilled Eschatology ( according to Charles Haddon Shank )

Within the field of 'Fulfilled Eschatology' ( AKA 'Preterism' ); there are many differing views, regarding both the extent of the fulfillment and it's implications. Among Reformed believers, from Baptist to Presbyterian, some have adopted the position that key passages, such as the  'Olivet Discourse' in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, as with the book of Revelation, have been partially fulfilled ( hence the name 'Partial Preterist' ; although I believe that most of these ( which vary in degree, as well ) would call themselves 'historicists', or in some cases, 'true' preterists ), in particular, because of the way in which the disciples questioned Jesus in Matthew 24:3, some would say that Jesus was answering a different question, beginning in verse 36 ( and the parallel passages in Mark and Luke ). The Revelation might be another story; although here there are several good Reformed authors who have come dangerously close to viewing this book as fulfilled, I believe that most will cut it off at chapter 4, saying that John saw a vision of our future, while some will just say it's 'already, not yet'.


Probably the truest definition of the word 'preterist' is 'one who believes that the Biblical prophecies of the Apocalypse refer to historical events which have already taken place', but it can also refer to 'One whose chief interest is in the past; one who regards the past with most pleasure or favor.' The word comes from the Latin ' praeter', which means 'past, beyond', and is sometimes pronounced as 'preterit', which connotes 'Belonging wholly to the past; passed by'.


Implications of 'Fulfilled Eschatology', as regards salvation/redemption.


When Jesus described ( to His first-century disciples ) what was about to happen to them, in Luke's account of the 'Olivet discourse' ( chapter 21 ); He warned them 'Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near', while Paul wrote ( also to Christ's first-century disciples ), 'And [ do ] this, knowing the time, that now [ it is ] high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we [ first ] believed.' ( Romans 13:11 ). Peter wrote to these same disciples, 'Blessed [ be ] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.' ( I Peter 1:3-5 ) . Later, in this same chapter; he reported that they were already in these 'last times'. The writer to the Hebrews apprised his readers that 'God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by [ His ] Son' ( 1:1& 2 ).James wrote his epistle of warning to his Jewish brethren, reminding them, 'Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days' ( James 5:3 ), and further saying, in the same chapter, 'Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!' If indeed, the 'last days', spoken of throughout the prophets ( Old & New-( Isaiah 13:6-13 ) Isaiah 25, 60:20, Jeremiah 30:8, 31:31-34, 33:14-16, Daniel 8:17-19 ( 11:35 ) 12:1-3 ( Habakkuk 2:3 ) Matthew 24:3, Mark 13:4, Luke 21:7 ), then, as they foretold in these passages ( and there are many more ); this 'day of the Lord' would bring, not only an adverse judgment on the enemies of His people, but salvation for His people. If this 'day' has not fully come, including His parousia/presence, then His salvation can not have fully come either!


Implications of 'Fulfilled Eschatology', as regards His Presence.

Jesus, speaking of His departure, in preparation for the event, told His disciples, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.'  ( John 14:23 ) It is a traditionally well-known and stated fact that God/Jesus now, since Jesus' ascension, dwells with us in the 'form' of the Holy Spirit: Paul said, 'your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit [ who is ] in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own' ( I Corinthians 6:19 ), this is a well-accepted fact! Many people, though, have the notion that Jesus still inhabits His human Body, and it is in this Body that He will return in the future, but I'm not really sure why! I know that this theory is based primarily on Acts 1:11, which states that 'This [ same ] Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven'. Most of those 'Partial-Preterists' that I mentioned above, will heartily agree that the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD70, by the Roman armies, according to Old Testament ( Hebrew ) imagery ( Deuteronomy 33:26, Jeremiah 4:13, Ezekiel 30:3, Joel 2:2, Nahum 1:3, Zephaniah 1:15 ( Matthew 24:30, 26:64, Mark 13:26, 14:62 ), was 'a' coming of Jesus, but only in judgment. Most seemingly fail to see the connection between these 'cloud' judgments, and Jesus' coming 'in like manner'. For others, this easily explains why Peter, Paul, and other writers expected the return of Christ in the first century.

So; given that Jesus DID come in the first century, what does this mean to us?

Paul again, in his famous 'resurrection chapter' ( I Corinthians 15 ), 'when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.' ( verse 28 ) Granted, there are several different ways that this statement 'all in all' may be interpreted, and there is only one, but I believe that God is saying, through Paul, that the 'separation' ( within the God-head ) which occurred, first, when the Father sent of Himself ( His only begotten Son ) to this earth, in human form, to die for the sins of His people, and again when He sent His Spirit to indwell the hearts of believers at Pentecost, was 'healed' when Jesus came, in the glory of the Father, to carry out His judgment on His Old Covenant 'children' ( the disobedient ones ), and to bring in ( fully ) the eternal and everlasting ( Daniel 2 ) New Covenant ( Jeremiah 31 )!

'We are the Body of Christ'; if you are at all familiar with my 'ramblings' ( or 'rants ), you may have noticed that I often make this statement, which, you will probably agree, is a very Biblical statement! Paul wrote to the Corinthian church that 'Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.' ( I Corinthians 12:27 ), and, in his letter to the church of Ephesus, told the ministers there, that their work was 'for the edifying of the body of Christ'. ( Ephesians 4:12 ). He wrote to the Colossians, 'I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church'. ( Colossians 1:24 ) I made the statement above that , 'many.......have the notion that Jesus still inhabits His human Body'; I agree: He, through His Spirit ( Romans 8:9, I Peter 1:11 ) does inhabit ( most say He indwells ) His human Body, which Body we are!

Implications of Fulfilled Eschatology', as regards 'Heaven'.

I believe that Scripture tells us that 'Heaven' is the Presence of God; where He dwells, there is 'Heaven'! Solomon, when dedicating the first Temple, prayed God that when His servants prayed to Him in that Temple ( or towards, that He would 'Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.' ( I Kings 8:30 ( II Chronicles 6:30 ) In Psalm 113:5 & 6; his father David asked this rhetorical question, ' Who [ is ] like the LORD our God, Who dwells on high, Who humbles Himself to behold [ the things that are ] in the heavens and in the earth?' Psalm 9:11 ( 135:21 ), Isaiah 8:18 and Joel 3:17 & 28 tell us that He dwells in Zion. In the Hebrew Scriptures, use of the word 'Zion' seems most often to refer to a physical place, a city ( 'the City of David'-I Kings 8:1 ), but also often refers to the city of Jerusalem itself ( Psalm 51:18, 76:2, 102:21, 135:21, Isaiah 2:3, etc. ), and by natural extension ( spiritually ) to the people of God ( Psalm 48:11, 74:2, 78:68, 97:8, 99:2, 102:13, 129:5 ( 132:13 ) 147:12, Isaiah 1:27, ( Isaiah 12:6 ) 14:32, 28:16, 46:13, 51:1-16, etc. ). I believe that most Christians ( not all ) will readily acknowledge this fact, and that God dwells, and has always dwelt, in the midst of His people, wherever they are, but some have seemingly failed to make the connection between God's dwelling in 'heaven' and His dwelling in( the midst of ) His people, or Zion. Jesus told the Pharisees, regarding 'the kingdom of heaven'/'kingdom of God' ( Matthew 19:23 & 24 ), 'The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.' ( Luke 17:20 & 21 ), the implication, of course, being that, rather than being a visible 'place' ( or event-Matthew 24:23 ), God's Presence with His people would be a spiritual truth ( John 4:24 ), 'visible' only to the spiritual eyes' ( I Corinthians 2:14 ) of those in whom He dwells. Instead of saying that 'we are in 'Heaven Now', as certain of us have been wont to do ( myself included ); we might more correctly say that 'Heaven' ( as the abode of God ) is in us!'


Implications of 'Fulfilled Eschatology, as regards 'Hell'.

In Revelation 20:14, we read, 'Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death' ( most older translations say 'hell' rather than 'Hades', which is the Greek mythological 'underworld' ).'Hell' as we traditionally know it, a place of eternal torment, sounds suspiciously like the Greek myth of Hades, the 'abode of the dead'. The Wikipedia article that I found on this subject, had this, and many other interesting things to say; 'The term hades in Christian theology (and in New Testament Greek) is parallel to Hebrew sheol (שאול, grave or dirt-pit), and refers to the abode of the dead. The Christian concept of hell is more akin to (and communicated by) the Greek concept of Tartarus, a deep, gloomy part of hades used as a dungeon of torment and suffering.' In most cases, the word 'hell' in the Hebrew scriptures refers to 'gehenna', or the valley of Hinnom, which was traditionally the garbage dump for the city of Jerusalem, where 'fires were kept burning perpetually to consume the filth and cadavers thrown into it'. ( Mark 9:44-48 ); and this most likely, is where the traditional Jewish concept of 'hell' originated ( although some might disagree ). The Hebrew 'sheol', also translated 'hell', in most cases, refers to 'the "grave" ( Psalm 30:3 ), or "pit" ( Psalm 28:1 ) or "abyss" ( Romans 10:7 ( Deuteronomy 30:13 & 14 )' Probably, the most succinct ( although, I believe untrue ) explanation of the verse above, from Revelation 20, would be that 'Hades' was emptied, or, depending on your eschatological ( end-times ) view, 'will be emptied', of it occupants at the 'last day', but an honest reading of this passage requires that 'Hades' itself, and more importantly, 'death', was consumed ( Hebrews 12:29 ) in, and by, this 'Lake of Fire'!

Implications of 'Fulfilled Eschatology', as regards the doctrine of 'eternal conscious punishment'.

Having already covered this subject, in part, in a previous article; I'll not dwell on it much here, except to remind my readers, as above, that, death and Hades', having been thrown into the 'Lake of Fire' ( consumed ( Daniel 3:22 ) are no more, so you can see for yourself what these implications are. As of now; let me just say that, in a sense, I do believe in 'eternal conscious punishment', and this is the sense in which I mean it: I believe that those who continually, from their own choice, reject Christ and His righteousness, are in a sort of 'hell' as they walk this earth. I suppose that some would immediately hiss, or make the sign of the cross at that kind of talk, but when you think about it, being, as one would assume from it's being thrown into the 'Lake of Fire' and consumed, 'hell' would be no more; correct? If there is no more 'hell', in that sense, and 'heaven' is in our hearts; wouldn't it make sense that we create our own 'hell on earth' ( even Christians ) from the choices that we make, and physically speaking, from the ( wrong ) things that we do. Here is a short quote from that previous article, 'ECP, and the Resurrection of Condemnation';

'There is no doubt that when John relayed Jesus' words to us in John 5:25 & 28 that he had in mind His words to Daniel, in Daniel 12:2. There is some question, however, whether the the words of Christ in verse 25 speak of the same resurrection as those in verse 28. In the historical ( and covenantal ) context of Jesus' words; I believe that we can say, with some certainty, that He was speaking specifically to that 'generation', so that when He said, in verse 25, that 'the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live', He was saying simply that all those that heard the Gospel ( both directly and indirectly ) would be awakened, but that not all who heard ( Pharisees, for instance ) would truly understand and believe ( Isaiah 6:10 ). In verses 28 and 29, Jesus is referring more directly to Daniel 12:2, and the 'final judgment' of the first century, but again to the fact that all would be 'awakened', and that some would respond in a positive way, and that some would respond negatively. Those who responded in a positive manner ( obeyed ) were then granted entry into the Kingdom of God, and His presence, while those who responded in a negative way ( disobeyed ) were condemned ( John 3:18 ) to perish in the 'Lake of Fire', of which John wrote in the Revelation, the conflagration and destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, signaling the final and definitive end of the Old Covenant economy, or age.'

I believe that more and more truths are being uncovered every day, concerning the implications of 'Fulfilled Eschatology'; let us always keep this in mind as we seek to learn, but most importantly, as we address, in our own lives, the question of 'How should we then live?'

May God bless us all, as we seek His truth ( always ), and strive to apply them in our lives, acting as the 'healing leaves' that we have been made!

In His service, and for His Kingdom,

Charles Haddon Shank

'

Studies in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus the Christ the Son of God ( the visions ( 'It is finished' ) Pt 13

 Keys to Understanding the Book of Revelation


Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the bowls^[a] of the wrath of God on the earth.”


As I mentioned before, these 'angels' are seen to partake in this judgment. This is particularly significant if, as traditionally understood, the ministers, pastors, if you will, of the 'seven churches of Asia', being 'the angels of the seven churches'. This is significant because, as we have seen in this study, and other studies that I have done, because the very name 'Israel' ( ruler with God ) indicate that God's people rule with, and even sit as judges with God! In I Corinthians 6:2; Paul revealed to his readers that they to, along with Jesus disciples ( Matthew 19:28, Luke 22:28-30  ) would 'judge the world'.

Throughout this study, and throughout Scripture; we have also seen repeatedly that, even in cases where the use of the number  'seven' could well have had a physically literal meaning, it is most often indicative of 'completeness, perfection, etc.'. As the Nestle/Aland ( NU ) text reads in the verse above, the angels mentioned carried the 'seven bowls' of the wrath of God, 'for in them the wrath of God is complete', as we saw in the last chapter (15 ). This was the final judgment of those, as Amos 6:6 reads, 'Who drink wine from bowls, and anoint yourselves with the best ointments, but are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph', for those '[ who are ] at ease in Zion, and trust in Mount Samaria', and as God argued in Jeremiah 2:13, 'For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, [ and ] hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water' ( Jeremiah 17:3 ( Revelation 7:17 ). The 'children' of Israel, in their rejection of God's promised Messiah, had finally reached 'the boiling point', and were about to be ( Greek 'mello' ) judged, and that in finality!



So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.


'So the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh. And it will become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and it will cause boils that break out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” Then they took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses scattered them toward heaven. And they caused boils that break out in sores on man and beast.' ( Exodus 9:8-10 )

'From the sole of the foot even to the head, [ there is ] no soundness in it, [ but ] wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; they have not been closed or bound up, or soothed with ointment.' ( Isaiah 1:6 )

'The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed'. ( Deuteronomy 28:27 )

As we have seen before in this study; the plagues of Egypt served a a type of the 'plagues' that were loosed on Old Covenant Israel at the time of the end. I noted previously, in other words, maybe, that the fact that the Lord visited these 'plagues' upon His Old Covenant children is likely indicative of, among other things, the fact that these 'children had apostatized to the point that God no longer made a difference ( Exodus 8:23 ) between Old Covenant Israel, and the nations around them.

God began to recount, through the prophet Isaiah, how many great and awesome things He had done, and continued to do, for His covenant 'children', and how they had continually been disobedient and un-thankful, which led to their being punished, through many different means, but their wounds that came as a result of God's righteous discipline had not been 'bound up' by their religious leaders, as they should have. Because of this; their 'wounds' began to putrefy and became gangrenous to the point that God's justice required that they be 'cut off' (  Romans 11:17-24 ), removed from their covenant status ( for a time, anyway ).

The famous 'blessing & cursing' chapter of Deuteronomy 28, outlines the blessings or cursings that would be visited upon God's covenant 'children' for either their obedience or dis-obedience to His laws. In verse 27, which I've quoted above; God promised to treat His covenant 'children' as if they were not in covenant with Him, but to treat them just as He had treated the Egyptians for their sake, not too long before.
 



Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.



'Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood.' ( Revelation 8:8 )

'Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in [ buckets of ] wood and [ pitchers of ] stone.' ( Exodus 7:19 )

'So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who [ were ] with him in the ark remained [ alive ].' ( Genesis 7:23 )

You may have heard that the 'bowl judgments were simply a repeat of the 'seven trumpets', and while this may be true enough ( we'll see as we continue our study ): John 'sees' a slightly different aspect of the catastrophic vision. For instance; when the first trumpet sounded; John saw all the vegetation of the earth being burned up by fire mixed with hail and blood, all significant of the judgments on Egypt. When the first angel poured out his bowl on the earth, it was not the vegetation, but men, women, and children who suffered the eternal vengeance. With the second bowl; John 'saw' that the sea was turned to blood ( just as the rivers in Egypt ) and all living things in it died ( just as in Egypt-Exodus 7:18 ), but when the second angel sounded, as we read back in Revelation 8; a mountain burning with fire ( remember the vegetation being burned up? ) was thrown into the sea, and the sea became blood, as of dead men ( not vegetation ).



Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying: “ You are righteous, O Lord,^[b] the One who is and who was and who is to be,^[c] because You have judged these things. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. For^[d] it is their just due.” And I heard another from^[e] the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”


 This third 'bowl' of judgment, which was poured ( symbolically ) on the rivers and springs of water, is, you might say, very similar to the second, so why did God show John the same thing ( almost ) twice? We have often seen before, that when a judgment is certain, or very near, about to be ( Greek-mello ); God often revealed it to His prophets twice, or more, in slightly different ways, but as you may see in the above passage, although it is more similar to the first plague upon Egypt ( rivers of blood ); God also revealed more and more the reason for His judgment. Number one, it was a just ( deserved ), and promised judgment, and two, we can see that this is more obviously geared toward His covenant 'children', because remember, for example, that, in Luke 11:47, Jesus pronounced this judgment on the Pharisees ( one of the ruling classes in Israel ), saying 'Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.'  He went on to allude to His own words to them, recorded in Matthew 23:34 ( a parallel passage ), accusing them of being partakers in the wrongful actions and guilt of their fathers. Paul, speaking of these same Judeans, comforted the Thessalonians in I Thessalonians 2:15, reminding them that they were not alone in their tribulation, because the Jews had 'killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men.' Near the end of his farewell address to his errant people, in Acts 7:52, Stephen reminded them, 'Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers'. There are many examples, beginning with the first recorded murder of an innocent, in Genesis 4:1-15 ( of Abel ), to the murder of 'Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar', which is recorded only, well after the fact, in Matthew 23:35 in the Old Testament, showing how deserved this judgment was.

Significant too, is the fact that an angel calls from the altar, praising God for His righteous judgment, for remember 'the souls ( of the saints and prophets ) under the altar', that have been mentioned, in Revelation 6:9?




Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.



'Furthermore the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face toward the south; preach against the south and prophesy against the forest land, the South,^[g] and say to the forest of the South, ‘Hear the word of the LORD! Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every green tree and every dry tree in you; the blazing flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be scorched by it. All flesh shall see that I, the LORD, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.”' ( Ezekiel 20:45-48 )

'But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.' ( Matthew 13:6 )

The passage above, from Matthew 13, is most often applied to modern-day hearers of the Word, who receive it gladly at first, but then later reject it when persecution ( in whatever form ) arises because of it, but, keeping in mind the covenantal and historical context of Jesus' words, and also the eschatological nature of Scripture; it is clear that Jesus is referring to the Old Covenant 'children' of Israel, who, in the beginning of His ministry, received Him ( for the most part ) with joy, but when persecutions ( Acts 7 & 8 ) arose, quickly fell back into 'the old ways'.

When the prophet Zechariah revealed to these 'children' what God would do to them in the latter days ( which, I'm sure, is one of the things that got him killed ), prophesying that they themselves would become their own judgment ( by 'fire' ), we can see that this fourth 'bowl' judgment, like the corresponding seal and trumpet, fulfills ( symbolically ) this judgment perfectly.


Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.



'You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.' ( Daniel 2:34 & 35 )

'For the LORD has poured out on you the spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes, namely, the prophets; and He has covered your heads, [ namely ], the seers.' ( Isaiah 29:10 )

'Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.”' ( Exodus 10:21 )

'The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.' ( Isaiah 9:2 )

'Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.' ( Luke 16: 24 )

'Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and^[a] cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’' ( Matthew 22:13 )

'When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with [ their ] teeth.' ( Acts 7:54 ( Psalm 35:16 )

In all of these 'bowl' judgments; we must remember, first of all, that they are symbolic and even allegorical ( as you can see from the passages I've quoted ), and secondly, that it was God Himself who ultimately unleashed these terrible judgments. For instance, when Isaiah wrote that God would close their eyes and cover their heads; God wasn't literally closing their physical eyes, and covering their physical heads, but was, in reality, giving 'them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves' ( Romans 1:24 ), in effect, making them 'blind leaders of the blind' ( Matthew 15:14 ), and thus fulfilling His words to the prophet, in Isaiah 6:10, saying, 'Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed.'

In the famous 'blessing & cursing' passage of Deuteronomy 28, which I mentioned above; God promised His blessing on His people if they obeyed and His cursing on them if they were disobedient to His covenant. Because the 'children' of Israel had broken His covenant, even vows that they themselves had made ( Joshua ); God told them, through the prophet Jeremiah, 'Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place—on man and on beast, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground. And it will burn and not be quenched.' ( Jeremiah 7:20 ( 42:18 ) In Lamentations 4:11; Jeremiah mourns the just fulfillment of God's righteous promise, when he cried 'The LORD has fulfilled His fury, He has poured out His fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion, and it has devoured its foundations' ( these words could almost be written by Josephus of the AD70 destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, while they also bring to remembrance Jesus words in Matthew 24 ) Recounting the wickedness of Israel's leaders, in Ezekiel 22:31; God spoke these words through the prophet, 'Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads' ( remembering this judgment, in Ezekiel 36:18, God then promises blessing upon His people ) Daniel, in his famed prayer on behalf of his people ( Daniel 9: 1-19 ), mournfully recalled God's promise in Deuteronomy 28, when he wrote 'Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him.' ( verse 11 ) Quoting Joel 2:28-32 ( from the Septuagint, I believe ); Peter recalled to the minds of his mockers what the prophet had said of the 'last days' and of the coming 'Day of the Lord', revealing that 'it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, our young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.' ( Acts 2:17-21 ) In 'pouring out' His Spirit upon His people; God was, in effect, 'killing two birds with one Stone ( Daniel 2:44 )': referring once again, to His promises in Deuteronomy 28, God blessed His true people ( Isaiah 65:8-16, Romans 9:6-8 ), and cursed those who were not His ( 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity'-Luke 13:27, Galatians 3:7 ( Hosea 1:9 )



 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs [ coming ] out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, [ which ] go out to the kings of the earth and^[f] of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed [ is ] he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.” And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon .



'So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), that the waters which came down from upstream stood [ still, and ] rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that [ is ] beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, [ and ] were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho.' ( Joshua 3:14-16 )

'And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, “You are the Son of God.”' ( Mark 3:11 )

'Then [ Micaiah ] said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. And the LORD said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ The LORD said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the LORD said, ‘You shall persuade [ him ], and also prevail. Go out and do so.’' ( I Kings 22:19-22 )

'But his father and mother did not know that it was of the LORD—that He was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.' ( Judges 14:4 )

We have noted before, in this study, that these 'children' of Israel had apostatized to the point that one could barely distinguish between them and the nations around them, and this was why God judged them in the manner that He did; they had assimilated the cultures of all those around them, and were sharing, as well, in the judgment that God had 'meted' out on those nation! As you may read earlier in Judges 14 above; we can see that this occasion that was 'of the LORD', was the marriage of one of God's special people ( indeed, a type of Christ ) with a Gentile, a Philistine, no less! While we may not agree with the methods that God employed throughout history ( especially in this case ) to accomplish His purposes; they are His purposes, not ours, and His ways, not ours! ( Remember what Isaiah had to say about God's ways as opposed to ours? ( Isaiah 55:9 ) The situation, as recorded in I Kings 22, where God purposed to destroy Ahab, was that the king of Judah, who claimed to follow the Lord and walked in His ways, sought to ally himself with the wicked king of Judah: God used this occasion to show firsthand to the king of Judah what happened to those who wickedly departed from His precepts, as the king of Israel had. We read in Joshua 3 then, how God had opened a path through the ( overflowing-flood stage ) Jordan river, in order that His people might pass through to accomplish His purpose. The point of the passage from Mark 3, and others like it, is that even unclean spirits have no choice but to fall to their knees when confronted by the awesome Presence and Power of God!

'And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.' ( Genesis 9:20-23 ( 3:10, Exodus 20:26 ( Leviticus 18:7 )

'Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! for the uncircumcised and the unclean shall no longer come to you.' ( Isaiah 52:1 )

'And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.' ( Daniel 3:27 )

'Lately My people have risen up as an enemy— you pull off the robe with the garment from those who trust [ you ], as they pass by, like men returned from war.' ( Micah 2:8 ( Isaiah 47:3, Ezekiel 16:39 ( 23:10 )

'Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.' ( James 5:2 )

'You^[b] have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.' ( Revelation 3:4 ( 5 & 18 ( II Corinthians 5:3 )

As we have seen, in many places throughout this study, and in the Scriptures;  the Old Covenant 'children' of Israel, the typical people of God, had become so corrupt and apostate, finally, that God did to them what they had done to other wicked nations and even to His true people, and exposed their nakedness, taking away their garment, showing that, indeed, in reality 'the emperor had no clothes'!

The story of 'the three Hebrew children' in Daniel 3 shows us that, with the covering, the true clothing that God, in Christ, provided, we can, to use an old phrase, 'walk through the fire and not get burned', and if those first-century Christians were careful, as Isaiah wrote, to put on their Strength, they would, as Jesus warningly promised, 'keep their garment' and not be ashamed at His coming, as those apostate Jews who denied Christ and the clothing that He provided!


Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”



Jesus had warned, as a prelude to these 'bowl' judgments, that the wrath of God would be completed, with the pouring out of the seventh ( remember the significance of the number '7'? ) 'bowl'; now John hears a voice from 'Heaven' crying out that it has indeed been completed, it was spent, finished, bringing to mind Jesus' words on the cross, where He said 'it is finished'! God's purpose in the destruction of the Temple and of the Old Covenant ( Jewish ) economy was significantly complete, their 'cup of wrath' ( Genesis 15:16 ) had become full, to overflowing.

'And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites under tribute, but did not completely drive them out.' ( Judges 1:28 )

'They did not destroy the peoples, concerning whom the LORD had commanded them,  but they mingled with the Gentiles and learned their works; they served their idols, which became a snare to them.' ( Psalm 106:34-36 )

'But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites— from the nations of whom the LORD had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love.' ( I Kings 11:1 & 2 )

'[It is ] not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart [ that ] you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations [ that ] the LORD your God drives them out from before you, and that He may fulfill the word which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' ( Deuteronomy 9:5 )

Because the 'children' of Israel had failed to follow God's instructions 'to the letter': they had assimilated the corruption of the nations around them, and apostatized from the covenant that they had entered into with God Almighty; God had unleashed upon them ( Hebrews 8:7-13 ) the discipline He had promised, and finally destroyed their covenant of death ( Isaiah 28:15-18 ).




And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.



'Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.' ( Exodus 19:16 )

'Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.' ( Revelation 8:5 )

'The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; the lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook.' ( Psalm 77:18 ( 97:4 )


'Then the LORD will be seen over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, and go with whirlwinds from the south.' ( Zechariah 9:14 )

'For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.' ( Matthew 24:27 ( Ezekiel 21:10 ( 1:14 ( Luke 17:24 ) Revelation 4:5 )

'For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel, so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.' ( Ezekiel 38:19 & 20 )

'Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split.' ( Matthew 27:51 )


'And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door,^[a] and sat on it.' ( Matthew 28:2 )


 Throughout the prophetic Scriptures, both Hebrew and Greek; earthquakes most often symbolize the presence of God, either directly or indirectly. Not only do earthquakes often signal the presence of God; as we read in the passage from Exodus, they can also signal the establishment and spiritually, the consummation of a covenant.

The veil of the temple being split in two, as recorded in Matthew 27, signified the opening of the way into the 'Holy of Holies' ( symbolic of 'Heaven', or the Presence of God ), which also signaled, in a sense, the beginning of the end for the Old Covenant economy, or system. The Presence of God, in the passage from Matthew 28, signified that God had accepted His Son's sacrifice ( once for all ): this also signified the end of the Old Covenant system of animal sacrifice.

Lightning also often signified the presence of God, as can be seen in the passage from Exodus, but could maybe be more readily related to the iteration of the Son of Man, which can be seen in places like Matthew 24 ( most famously ) and the related passages in Luke 21 and Mark 13, in the 'Olivet Discourse'.



Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.



'But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.' ( Matthew 12:25 )

'In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.' ( Isaiah 19:24 & 25 )

'And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!' ( Daniel 7:5 )

'And you, son of man, take a sharp sword, take it as a barber’s razor, and pass it over your head and your beard; then take scales to weigh and divide the hair. You shall burn with fire one-third in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are finished; then you shall take one-third and strike around it with the sword, and one-third you shall scatter in the wind: I will draw out a sword after them. You shall also take a small number of them and bind them in the edge of your garment. ( Ezekiel 5:1-3 )'

'Their heart is divided; now they are held guilty. He will break down their altars; He will ruin their [ sacred ] pillars.' ( Hosea 10:2 )

In the past; we have noted that the number '3', or variations thereof, is also often used in a symbolic way, significant of somewhat the same thing as is '7', an symbol significant of wholeness, completeness,even of perfection. Gods purpose, I believe, in dividing the city into three parts, was to show, as in Ezekiel 5, that two-thirds of the city ( significantly ) would be destroyed ( by one means or another ), while the one-third ( a remnant-Isaiah 65:8, Jeremiah 31:10 ) would be saved from the destruction, and gathered 'under the wing'-Jeremiah 23:3, Isaiah 37:32 ( Matthew 23:37 ) of Almighty God!

Jesus; speaking to the Pharisees, in Matthew 12, was referring, in the immediate context, to their blasphemy in relating His work to the work of the 'devil', but He was also prophesying, as in many of the parables ( Matthew 22:1-14 ), and parabolic stories ( Luke 20:9-19 ( Isaiah 5:1-7 ) that He told, of the coming destruction of Jerusalem, because, as with their King Solomon, their allegiance had become divided, thinking that they could worship other 'gods' while pretending to worship the true God, as well!



Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.



'It shall come to pass in that day [ that ] the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, from Assyria and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush, from Elam and Shinar, from Hamath and the islands of the sea.' ( Isaiah 11:11 ( Matthew 24:31 ( Jeremiah 23:3 )

'Behold, the nations [ are ] as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales; look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.' ( Isaiah 40:15 )

'I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled, and all the hills moved back and forth.' ( Jeremiah 4:24 ( Psalm 72:3 )

'The mountains saw You [ and ] trembled; the overflowing of the water passed by. The deep uttered its voice, [ and ] lifted its hands on high.' ( Habakkuk 3:10 )

If you have ever read the book of Revelation, you might remember reading in chapter 21, the phrase, 'there was no more sea': although some might try to affix a more literal meaning to these words; a study of Old Testament prophetic ( symbolic ) language makes it clear, and fairly easy to see, that John was referring to the fact that the separation between Jew and Gentile ( goyim-the nations ) had been removed, and that the distinction no longer existed. Such, I believe, is the case here; but not only had the distinction become non-existent, there would come no help from either the nations with whom they had committed spiritual adultery ( Jeremiah 3:9, Ezekiel 16:26, 23:7 ), or the 'mountains' ( Psalm 121:1 ( Jeremiah 3:23 ( 68:16, 72:3, 97:5, Isaiah 2:14, 34:3, 44:23, 65:9, Jeremiah 50:6, Ezekiel 6, 33:28, 36, Hosea 10:8, Micah 1:4, 4:1, 6:1 & 2, Matthew 24:16 ), to whom they looked for their strength.One might well attach a very physical explanation ( an earthquake, for instance ) to many of these passages, such as Habakkuk 3:10, and while this is very likely true; a deeper spiritual meaning is to be sought and found here, in reference to the vaunted strength ( not the true Strength ) of Israel, their religious ( spiritual ) leaders.




And great hail from heaven fell upon men, [ each hailstone ] about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.


'Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to rain down, such as has not been in Egypt since its founding until now. Therefore send now and gather your livestock and all that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man and every animal which is found in the field and is not brought home; and they shall die.' ( Exodus 9:18 & 19 )

'And it happened, as they fled before Israel [ and ] were on the descent of Beth Horon, that the LORD cast down large hailstones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. [ There were ] more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword.' ( Joshua 10:11 )


'From the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.' ( Psalm 18:12 )

'Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one, like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, like a flood of mighty waters overflowing, Who will bring [ them ] down to the earth with [ His ] hand.' ( Isaiah 28:2 )

'And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who [ are ] with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.' ( Ezekiel 38:22 )

'I struck you with blight and mildew and hail in all the labors of your hands; yet you did not turn to Me,’ says the LORD.' ( Haggai 2:17 )

God had many times throughout their history, used hail, whether actual or symbolic, to punish ( destroy ) not only the enemies of His typical 'children' of Israel, but to discipline ( bring into line ) His people, the true 'Israel of God! As their 'cup of wrath' was ( being ) filled; God, through His prophets, sent to them time and time again, in order that they might 'have no excuse' ( Ecclesiastes 5:6, John 15:22 ( Psalm 51:4, Romans 2:1-3 ), and that their judgment might be found just. One of their own, the historian Josephus, wrote words to this effect, when he postulated, 'it is God, therefore, it is God Himself Who is bringing on this fire, to purge that city and temple by means of the Romans, and is going to pluck up this city which is full of your pollutions' ( 'Wars' Book 6, chapter 2, 110 ), and of Titus Caesar, that he 'excused himself before God as to this matter, and said that he had proposed peace and liberty to the Jews, as well as an oblivion of all their former insolent practices; but that they instead of concord, had chosen sedition, instead of peace, war; and before satiety and abundance, a famine.' ( 'Wars' Book 6, chapter 3, 215 )

It was finally 'time to pay the piper'!

The Truth of Religion

Of late, more and more people have become dissatisfied with the term religion, centered in what is known as the mainstream, more or less, orthodox church. I say 'more or less', because much of the dissatisfaction has come from those associated with the evangelical denominations, which can go from one to the other extreme, when it comes to traditional orthodoxy, but usually more toward the 'left' end of the spectrum, especially of late.

My purpose, in this article, is to remind my readers that although the mainstream church, and the 'religion' that they often engender, has taught many 'doctrines' that people have begun, at the very least, to suspect, or even to view, as mere 'fear-mongering'. Some even go so far as to say that it would be a very cruel God who would create some people, just to consign them to 'hell' ( given that orthodoxy is correct ) and thus have disassociated themselves with those that have chosen to align themselves with, or even to adopt the 'false' doctrines of these mainstream churches, and teach these 'doctrines' as truth ( they answer to God alone ). To do so, just because they do teach or believe differently, ( I believe ) is to 'throw out the baby with the bathwater', in other words, the same thing that many in the mainstream 'church' have seemingly done!

James said that 'if any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless.' ( James 1:27-NRSV ) In the same 'vein', he wrote later ( 2:17 ), 'So faith, if it has no works, is dead'. Reading in context; we can see that what James was telling them, and what God has told us ( in His Word ), is that we must ACT on what we profess to believe, else it's not true religion at all, and we are only professors and not living confessors!

There are several different ways that 'religion' can be defined; it can simply be what one believes, or as James is speaking of above, it is what is called the 'Christian religion', and this is usually what is meant by the phrase 'he got religion'. Most people nowadays, especially those that speak demeaningly of 'religion', have in mind 'organized religion', or the institutional church. Talking to a brother this morning ( thanks, Greg! ), I said 'I have no problem with organization; it's just the way some things are organized that I have a problem with'! Like I said above ( in other words ); if we profess to believe a certain way, and don't live those beliefs, our religion is worthless ( I say this to myself most of all )!

No doubt, there are many 'doctrines' being taught today in the mainstream, and orthodox churches, as 'Gospel truth', that have been shown to 'leak like a sieve', and more that are being, or have been proven to be absolute falsehood! The Truth, however, 'is what it is' ( as another brother ( thanks, John! ) puts it, 'it is what it aught to be' ), and it is not our belief in a certain matter that makes it so, or not so; for instance, it is not our belief that Christ came again in the first century, that makes it so, and conversely, one's belief that He did not ( yet ), does not make it so. Religion becomes a problem when we allow our beliefs, not only in word, but in deed, to keep us from fulfilling God's command to 'love one another, as I have loved you'. It is true that many within the organized ( institutional ) church today, especially the 'orthodox' branch, seem to have forgotten this principle, but I believe that as many or more, have begun to change their system of belief concerning how we are to treat others, even those with whom we disagree, even vehemently, and even those within the more 'orthodox' denominations have 'put their best foot forward'; sharing, spreading the love of God in Christ Jesus, almost contrary, seemingly, to their purported 'doctrines!

The argument has been made that 'when Christ walked this earth; did He only ( actively ) love those that believed the way He said they should'? The answer, of course is, overwhelmingly, No!

So can we do less?

Many like to use the 'phrase 'forsake not the assembling of yourselves together' ( Hebrews 10:25-KJV ) as a 'proof-text' that we should, if at all possible, be in church every time that a meeting is called there: quickly; I'd like to remind my readers, 'we're always in 'church'!' We ARE the Church, and although most, if not all, will readily admit that; I believe that when too much emphasis is put on meeting together as a group, in a special building, on a certain ( special ) day ( or days-Sunday and Wednesday ) of the week, to pray together, sing a few songs of praise, listen to a sermon, partake of the 'Lord's Supper' ( varyingly ) and fellowship as the Body of Christ; we tend to forget that WE are the Church, we are the Body of Christ, and when we fellowship, whether it be in a special building, on a certain day of the week, or at our jobs on Monday, or a picnic, we are celebrating His Body and Blood, we are not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, even if it is not the traditional time, the traditional place, the traditional words................! All these things by themselves are not bad things to do; on the contrary, they are very right, very good things to do, but we get into a 'rut' because we begin to look at doing these things, at a certain time, and in a certain place, as 'Church' and go about our busy every-day lives, complete with all our worries, stress, and busyness the rest of the week! Sure, we keep a semblance, or a pittance of our Church-ness about us, especially when we remember that Jesus told His disciples 'where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there among them' ( Matthew 18:20-NRSV ). Here's a good question: when some Christian buddies get together, throw back a few 'tall cold ones', and watch football; is God among them? Are they gathered in His name? Must they pray before God is present?

Back to the Hebrews passage; not only do many quote this a lot; they often mis-quote it, not taking into account the covenantal and historical context of the passage. The covenantal context is brought into focus with the previous verse, where the writer adjures them, 'let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds', and both the covenant and historical context, when he says, in the latter part of verse 25, 'and so much the more as you see the Day approaching'. As above; there is nothing at all wrong with meeting together at a certain time, in a certain place, for all the purposes that I mentioned above; not only is it 'traditional', it is well-nigh a 'must' for the busyness of our everyday lives; we need that one special day to 'rest' from that busyness, to take our minds off our worries, get out from under our 'stress', but isn't this something that we should be doing every day? Don't we have our 'rest' in Christ? In fact; we have 'every spiritual blessing' ( Ephesians 1:3 ) in Christ! Aren't we told not to worry, not to stress about things, in Matthew 6:33?

To 'wrap things up'; I just want to remind us all ( myself included ) that there is nothing wrong with 'religion'; it is the way in which we practice our religion ( what we believe ) that can be wrong or right. Sure; much of 'organized religion' practices their religion badly ( poorly ) and in some cases, just plain wrongly, and this is too bad, so sad; but should this keep us from 'practicing' our religion? Too many 'Christians' out there, I'll readily agree, are quick ( and often very 'apt' ) to spout their religion out you ( often trying to 'ram' it down your throat-sadly, I must admit that this was me! ), but if you 'fight back' with your own brand of religion, 'the gloves come off', and it's 'no holds barred', until one or both end up limping away with their pet theology intact, but with no love in their hearts for the other person! Thankfully; this is not always the case, and we must gratefully and humbly applaud our brothers and sisters who can exercise the self-control ( and restraint ) to stay away from a situation like this.

Sure; it's hard! But isn't that what God promised?